Changed
by hellantroy5567
Summary: Roy lived in a time of peace, she was a huntress. The best in her tribe, but being the best came with a price. A legend had come alive and she was caught in the middle of a mythical war between three tribes, only one strong enough of will to contain its humanity.
1. Chapter 1

Prologue

In legend, our nation was infested with monsters. They destroyed all they came in contact with. These monsters are called the Lamia. The Lamia were savage beasts who could take on human form and appear to their prey as normal. The Lamia favored young women and men to feed upon, and they fed by devouring the body and the soul.

These monsters could multiply hundreds at a time, they grew s the humans shrank. No where was safe.

One particularly brave and noble clan called the Lupos came to the conclusion. They could not kill the Lamia on their own, they needed the help of gods.

The Lupos came together in an alter where they prayed and the goddess Okami answered,

"Thou must destroy thine self for this task." She looked at the members of the clan , "it will take your humanity, and it will turn you."

"Will you leave us enough humanity to know what to kill, Goddess Okami?"

"I will, but it will wither with time. Be warned."

Okami raised her hand and held out to the people a glass of fine pure liquid. When drank the drinker turned into a wolf. A huge wolf five times as big as the normal, and five times as strong and fast, and predatorily.

These wolves killed the Lamia, almost entirely off when the goddess's warning came to truth. The Lupos lost their humanity and started killing anyone or anything that stood in their way.

Another tribe called Fera knew the mistake the Lupos had made. They took the freedom that defined humanity, the tribe Fera to position of the liquid but gave the drinkers the choice to turn to wolf or not, and the Fera could control it. They could save the helpless, so they did.

Humanity grew and flourished as the last of the monsters that had plagued them died out. And, as humanity's saviors fell into legend.

Chapter 1

"So children," the elder finished her story, "that is how our world came to be."

"Puh-lease," I stood up, "I'm the best huntress around here, if there were wolves that big and dangerous I would atleast know about it! Or the other hunters, we don't exactly all stick to one spot! That's just a legend, things like those don't really exsist!"

"Roi you know best of all of us legends are just history we do not understand."

"Yeah well I'm sick of this." I stomped out angrily and snatched my bow off the hut wall.

Our home was small, a small village with wooden cabins and huts for story telling. All those stupid elders who thought all of the legendary stuff was real were the ones contaminating people's minds. If anything they are the monsters.

I walk through our little village past the fire pit past the cabins and to the edge of the protected area. I hesitated like I always did, stepping past this border would kill me if I wasn't smart, quick, brave and observant. It's a heavy weight really. But hunters cannot allow fear to control them. It was an oath I took, I will work for the people and betterment of the community above anything else. Anything included fear of death.

I gathered up my courage and stepped past the border. Instantly my senses became aware of everything around me, from the breeze rustling up raven black hair to the dust pecking at my oak wood eyes.

I stood still and listened. Listening was something I learned, blocking out all other senses just to hear, and sound is the best telltale sign for prey.

A sound caught my attention to the west and I took off at a dead sprint, flying over the plains and to the forest like the deer I had trained to imitate.

My bow flew up and an arrow struck the eye of the wild turkey before it even knew I was there. I had approached against the wind so my scent would not give myself away, and I had done it as close to silently as a hunter could get.

I grinned at my fine prize, one fat, healthy turkey with an arrow sticking through its head. I grabbed it and tied its feet and brought it home.

Stepping past the border I felt my tension release. My job was not protection, it was food. And I delivered.

The chief was proud of my fine catch and so was father. I didn't need the old man's praise. I just wanted to see that Father was proud of me, that's all I wanted. His approval was the only sustenance I needed, but he rarely gave it.

That night we feasted on turkey gravy and the cornbread that had just been made. Then, I took out to the woods again. My senses were sharpened by the increasing blackness, and I had no fear of anything sneaking up on me.

Rustle rustle. To my left?

Again.

To my right?

Again.

Behind me.

I turned and loosed an arrow at the huge shadow. The arrow, never pierced its skin.

It growled and snarled at me as I ran. I don't remember getting up but I somehow did and flew through the forest, dodging tree after tree.

This time I was not the predator. I was prey.

It was too fast to be a normal animal, too large to be a wolf or bear and it was strong. It knocked over a tree as it ran towards me.

I felt myself knocked off my feet by something, I flew through the air and landed on a tree sliding down.

My body was stunned, and my mind was frantically trying to do a million things at once. I could only watch as it—my death—walked toward me.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

My eyes were closed (whoever wants to watch their death cast the first stone) as I anticipated my death. I prayed it would be quick and maybe painless. I heard snarls and a whimper. Large paws padded away from me and I heard a bark.

Cautiously I opened my eyes and saw another wolf, smaller leaner with an expression that could have belonged to—an expression? Wolves can smile? Or look worried?

It looked at me and cocked its head to the side.

I tried to melt into the tree, attempting to get away from the thing. It looked at me then had an expression of sudden clarity. Once again, wolves do not have expressions like that!

It rippled and as the ripple spread the wolf limbs and body turned into human legs, arms, hands and feet. It finished with the head and showed a strong man in black pants and a white shirt with a black jacket. He stood there and looked down at me.

He was tall.

No other word to describe it, tall and lean. He had the muscle of a hunter, muscle like my father's. Strong but graceful. I could see controlled strength in the way he held himself, and controlled fury. His brown hair fell to the nape of his neck in long, silken, timber sheets. His skin was tanned and worn like one who lived and worked in nature. I couldn't see much else from the darkness around me and above me.

He extended a hand to me.

"Are you alright?"

I accepted his help and stood wobbly to my feet still staring.

"Uh... Um... err…" great first impression, cave man.

"Do you speak English?"

"Yes I do." I found my words, yay I could make an even bigger fool out of myself.

"Oh. What are you doing out here so late?" He didn't really say it like a question, more like a demand. Damn jerk is this supposed to be an interrogation?

"Hunting," I picked my bow off the ground and walked over to my quiver. The strap was ripped, "Great."

"You shouldn't be so far away from your home. It's dangerous."

"I figured that out, thank you very much."

"Are you going to return to your village?"

"If I can find it in the dark, if not I'll set up a camp and wait 'til dawn."

"And wait for the Lupos to come back."

"Lupos?" I turned to him. Did he just say what I thought he said? Lupos don't exist. They're legends and nothing more. Well, I also thought shape shifting men didn't exist but I guess my point was disproven. I really hope I got hit on the head and am hallucinating, if I'm not I think I'll freak.

"Yes, men who have turned to the wilderness for power and allowed the wilderness to take and control them. They had good intentions at heart but good intentions are not everything."

"Wait, wait, wait, slow down, those things are real?! I thought they were just legends!"

"They are real. Legends are just history humans do not have the capacity to understand."

"And what? You're a Fera?"

"Yes I am."

I shook my head and started walking the way I remember; it was easy I just followed the path of destruction.

The man (I still wasn't convinced he was the whole thing from the legend) followed a pace or two behind me.

"Are you going to stalk me?"

"No."

"Will you stop following me?"

"No."

That's helpful; I can tell he's a real conversationalist.

"Mind telling me why?"

"No."

"Why the hell are you following me?!" I turned and face him, glaring.

"They tried for you, which means you must have some manner of power of ability, they will come back. After tonight I believe you should refrain from entering these woods again."

"Yeah like that's going to happen."

"It is in your best interest to avoid another encounter."

"My best interest," I started walking away from him, "isn't the most important one."

He still followed me, which annoyed the hell out of me. I tried my best to ignore him, retracing my steps but I really got nowhere so I stuck to plan two.

I leaned over remembering my training and blew gently on the pile of timber. The sparks shot up and quickly I had a fire going. I ate one of my earlier kills, a rabbit, and lay on the ground.

The man stood there watching me, just out of firelight. I glanced at him and rolled over to face the other direction.

"Do you have to stare at me like that?"

Silence was my only response, jerk.

I eventually fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up to warm sun on my face. The heat warmed my skin and my mind. I didn't want to sit up. Or wake up.

But I did. Like every other day, I sat up and I woke up and I checked my weapons, and headed home. Maybe that whole encounter was a dream. Hopefully it was.

My hopes were dashed when the man-wolf thing from earlier walked behind me. I moaned in despair and just kept walking attempting to ignore him.

I stopped. Glancing around then jumped and tackled the man as I did.

"Stay down!" I hissed and grabbed an arrow out of my quiver positioning it on my string and drawing it back to my ear to fire.

"What is it?" He sat up looking at me.

"Shut up!" I kept the arrow back ready to shoot.

"Roy?"

Dad? But how did he..?

"Dad…?" My voice came out in a whisper.

"Roy, where are you?" he sounded frantic, dad was never frantic. I glanced to the side at dad and moved the bush slightly. The voice was coming out of a wolf's mouth.

Wait, wolves can talk?

I drew back the arrow strengthening my resolve and treated it like an attacker. With no mercy I shot and the arrow spiraled through the wolf's eyes. The giant thing fell legging out a howl that revealed teeth the size of bananas and a body that was too big to even be a fully grown, female bear.

I stood pulling out another arrow and glancing around. No movement. What had alerted me? I didn't see anything and I hadn't heard anything. My sense of smell wasn't that good considering how long I spent at home with my brothers who never bathed.

I shook my head, this wasn't the time, one wolf and there might be a whole pack coming after it. If I was lucky I'd have about maybe thirty minutes 'till it found us.

The man stared at me jaw dropped.

"What? Staring is rude."

"You… you could sense it… how?"

"Um I'm a hunter?"

"But you're human!"

"Ugh, not the time the-" the sound of wolves howling and grouping west of us cut me off and I took up three arrows. The man looked at me and rippled again, turning into his wolf form. Brown dusty fur covered his body and his limbs distended.

He stood there, another unnaturally huge wolf but this one didn't look savage or insane. I turned to the east hearing, some type of scream. A war cry maybe? It was human-esk, and maybe made by a human voice but it was not human.

I saw fear in the man-wolf's expression.

"What? What could it po-" oh god. Oh holy hell we are dead.

I stepped back steadying my breath and clearing my mind. This would require all of my focus, it was a war. And my ally and I were outnumbered thousands to one.

The first huge wolf thing emerged and I sent an arrow directly into its skull. The feathers vanished into its eye and it fell not making a sound.

The wolf-man took down two more of the huge monsters when the first Lamia emerged to battle. It howled and screamed inhumanly, I sent an arrow into its mouth and it ripped a hole into its skull but the Lamia didn't die.

The wolf thing kicked me and motioned to its back.

You have got to be kidding me.

I climbed on, losing arrows into the attackers as he ran. He ran like the wind, never slowing down, never pausing - except to alert me to another oncoming assassin. But the Lamia and the monstrous wolves were more focused on each other than us so I soon could relax.

He didn't relax though. He ran for hours, I kept an arrow on my string and the string tight but my arms were taking a break.

After hours the sun was setting again and he slowed to a walk.

"Hey dude, we should stop somewhere, if we are caught on the move we'll die. And anyways, I don't know your name, and I think you're sick of carrying me."

The wolf just looked back at me and shook its head, still walking forward. I sighed, I don't know where he's taking me but I'm not going. I slid off his back while he walked and started walking uphill.

The wolf turned to me looking annoyed.

"Don't give me that," I stared up assessing, maybe if I got high enough I could see home. Or maybe we were a few miles away, "I'm not going with you until I know who you are and where you want me to go."

The wolf let out an irritated bark and I started climbing up the increasing slope. He padded over to me letting out another irritated bark.

"Sorry, I don't speak wolf."

It barked again and rippled, I kept walking not wanting to watch the change. To be honest, it might have made me puke.

"My name is Aaran."

"I'm Roy, now where were you trying to take me and why."

"My home for protection."

"Protection?"

"Both the Lamia and Lupos attacked you; they must want you for something. My only guess so far is you have power and they want it. They will attack you again, but if you around other humans you and all of them will be killed or turned."

"Turned?"

"Your legend does not tell you there is a way to turn humans into one of the three tribes. It is painful and difficult but possible."

"That sounds like hell."

"It is."

"I suppose your 'tribe' would try to do this to me?"

"No, it would be your choice. We are not power hungry like the Lupos, or desperate like the Lamia."

"Whatever the hell you say I am not going with you."

You have to, it's safest for you!" he grabbed my shoulders and forced me to face him, his face uncomfortably close to mine, up until an arrow whizzed between us a mere millimeter in front of his nose.

The thick part of the blade cut the very tip of his nose. A man stood from the direction of the fired arrow and a man stood.

"Roy! Who is he!" Father glared between us, Aaran let go of me and stepped away looking scared.


End file.
